It’s become a popular and successful strategy. Graduate School staff venture to Thailand to recruit, and they get a lot of help from alumni over there.
Jacque Smith, director of graduate enrollment services, and Kristi Isaacson, assistant director of graduate enrollment services, have just returned from another trip, replete with 30-hour airplane rides both ways. While there, they attended the Royal Thai Scholar event, which featured Thailand’s best and brightest, according to Smith.
“These are the really good prospective students we wanted to talk to first,” he said. “Then we staffed a Michigan Tech recruiting booth with some thirty-thousand students and parents coming through.”
“It was a great experience getting to meet with our alumni and so many prospective students in Thailand.” Isaacson said. “Many of the these students came to the event specifically to meet with us based on the reputation of our University or connections their current advisors or employers already have with us.”
Helping tell the Tech story were a few generations worth of alumni. Recently graduated Sanchai Kuboon ’13 was there, a Royal Thai Scholar and materials science graduate who is currently a researcher developing new biofuels. On the other end of the scale, Wera Wongrcruawal ’60 made his annual appearance and received a special treat.
“We were able to present him with his Golden M pin and certificate signed by President Mroz,” Smith said, of the honor bestowed on those who have graduated fifty or more years ago.
In between age-wise were the Bigelows, Mark ’98 and Jennifer ’97, who took time from their assignments for General Motors. Prince Chakartnarodom ’03 and Peerapong Trijacharoen ’99 engineering faculty members of Kasetsart University were also at the recruiting booth.
Filling out the roster was Bill Hindelang ’70, Wilailuck Suvachittanont ’02, and Pongnarin Siapong ‘78. Pongnarin’s son is a current undergrad at Tech. “Our turnout was great, and it speaks to the loyalty of our alumni,” Smith says.
Great enough to get the Tech team together in the future, too, in spite of that plane ride.